My Fitness Coach (Wii)

MY FITNESS COACH is designed to be the next evolution in workout videos. Instead of following the same pre-recorded workout every time, players can change things up by specifying desired workout length, difficulty, and focus (weight loss, upper body, lower body, core, cardio or flexibility), and letting the program create a specially tailored workout delivered by an encouraging virtual personal trainer, Maya.

The game allows players to set up a personal profile to keep track of weight, fitness goals, preferences, and music choices (there are more than 70 tracks to work out to, from 80s pop to Hip-Hop). Maya is rendered in 3-D detail so that players can watch her demonstrate the exercise on-screen before trying it themselves. She also offers words of encouragement throughout the workout, and adjusts her feedback based on information players input about their mood and how difficult they found the last exercise.

My Fitness Coach wasn't actually designed for the Wii. It's a port of an older game called Yourself! Fitness, which came out several years ago for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox console. As such, the game is not compatible with the WIi balance board, and it's a shame. However, the game does offer support for other player-owned workout equipment like hand weights, stability ball, steps, and heart-rate monitor . (If you tell Maya that you own these products, she'll incorporate exercises that use them into the workouts.)

My Fitness Coach is a decent workout alternative for people who can't get out to the gym. It offers deeper goals and less of a cuteness factor than Wii Fit, and is great for people who don't have a Wii balance board. Those that do, however, will be disappointed by the possibilities that got squandered.